Google has introduced a new technical standard aimed at supporting agentic commerce as automation vendors and retailers experiment with AI-driven purchasing experiences.
The company unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at this year’s National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City. During a keynote address at the event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described UCP as an open protocol intended to let AI agents, retailers and payment systems exchange information across the full shopping journey, from product discovery through checkout and post-purchase interactions. He said the protocol is designed to work across industries and alongside existing specifications, including Agent2Agent, the Agent Payments Protocol and the Model Context Protocol.
UCP is infrastructure rather than a consumer-facing product, according to a post on Google’s developer blog. The company said it is intended to address gaps that emerge when AI agents are asked to make or assist with purchasing decisions on behalf of users at scale.
According to Google, the protocol was developed with input from retailers including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, and Target in addition to Walmart, and is endorsed by more than 20 others. The company said UCP keeps retailers as the merchant of record, allowing them to manage pricing, offers and customer relationships directly, even when transactions are initiated through AI-driven interfaces.
Initial use cases center on native checkout experiences embedded in Google properties. Google said UCP will support buy buttons within its AI-powered search experiences and Gemini, allowing users to complete purchases without leaving a conversational interface. Retailers can use the protocol to surface personalized pricing, loyalty offers or product recommendations at checkout.
“You might wonder why we are introducing another protocol,” said Pichai. “It’s important that the industry [have] a protocol that works at global scale and takes into account the nuances of commerce journeys, and there’s a critical building block for it.”